Do You Believe in an EMP?

By Kellene, Preparedness Pro on 7 December 2009 - 2:43pm

“Do you believe in an EMP?” questioned an older woman in one of my classes this weekend. Until she asked me this question, I suppose I never considered whether or not an EMP was to be “believed in” or not. None of my readers will be shocked to hear that I responded “Of course I believe in EMPs.” My follow-up question to her should have been “What’s not to believe?”

In a previous article I cover the logistics of an Electromagnetic Pulse. But I want to remind you that an EMP is the most economical approach for any enemy country to use against our nation. The EMP technology does exist in the Soviet Union, China, and North Korea. Because it exists in these other nations, that also means it could easily be “for sale” to even more ardent “haters” of the U.S. such as Venezuela or any number of Muslim enemies. Given that our nation is so reliant on electricity for all of the our money circulation, shipments of food and medications, water treatment, and healthcare, an EMP would be the perfect way to debilitate our nation—without the mess and expense that would be necessary with other forms of attack.

If an EMP is used on our nation, it would only take 3 EMP launches above the atmosphere to crumble our entire nation. Parts of Canada and Mexico would likely be affected as well. With an EMP strike there would be no need for an enemy to plan and prepare with all of the expense of shipping large armies and weapons over here. Besides, wouldn’t our detection systems see them coming from a long ways off? Additionally, there would be no need for the enemy army to bear the expense of caring for the sick and wounded. They would simply allow time to take care of that “problem” for them instead. Within 4 to 6 months the weak will have all died from a lack of medical care. (Just think about how many of Americans are dependent on gadgets and technology to keep us alive.) Afterwards, the enemy attacker could easily sweep in and no amount of communication would be available to provide any warnings. They would then have easy access to all of our nations assets along with a strong workforce. Easy peasy, right?

It is due to this awareness that I strongly suggest that if you are going to prepare and protect any electronic devices from the effect of an EMP (via a Faraday Cage) that you focus primarily on communication devices first and foremost. Communication and our hardened resolve will be critical in surviving any enemy attack. Communication enables planning, protection, and strategy. The lack thereof only enables a “sitting duck” scenario. I hear too often of individuals thinking that they will need to protect their cell phones, internet access, and televisions. Excuse me while I laugh at such ignorance and naïveté. If you’re one of those people, think about this for a second. Cell phones, televisions, and computers are only viable communication aids when the originating core network is functional.

While he was a teenager in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Utah, my father-in-law operated a radio station from his bedroom closet. (He actually had a few listeners and he went on to be a great voice of radio many years later.) As I recall this story I’m reminded that having the ability to broadcast a radio signal doesn’t take much effort, equipment or expertise. So I would recommend that you put such skills in your Mental Preparedness category and get it checked off your list. Being able to hear broadcasts of the truth to counteract the broadcasts of brainwashing was critical to the survivors of every major war fought throughout the last 70 years of history. It’s something you can plan and prepare for now.

Now, take heart and fear not. To be clear, based on my scriptural knowledge and belief I do not believe that another kingdom or principality will ever hold this nation physically. But I DO believe that there will be many who try to conquer the U.S. on a more vicious level and an EMP would be the most likely tool. Whether or not an enemy is able to fully execute their plan, they would still be able to do an unfathomable amount of damage in their attempts—such as with an EMP. But the same scriptures which give us this ultimate peaceful assurance also tell us of our “chariots and horses” being “cut down.” (Just imagine an ancient prophet trying to describe our automobiles and other transportation methods hundreds and hundreds of years ago. I’m sure that horses and chariots were about the best they could come up with.) On that note, :) tomorrow I’ll address a bit more of the most likely time an EMP would be launched. Stay tuned.

Comments

Submitted by Debbie on 7 December 2009 - 3:07pm

I just finished reading ONE SECOND AFTER by WILLIAM R. FORSTCHEN, a very scary scenario indeed about an EMP attack on America. He also has a web site by the same name. I think if you read this book, you will RACE to prepare, even if nothing ever happens, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Thank you for another excellent posting that helps us keep in mind one more (of many) reason(s) why we need to be prepared, as well as the need to broaden our preparation skills and methods. A few months after the EMP commission report was presented to Congress, the Heritage Foundation published their report 20 Oct 2008, "Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack: A Preventable Homeland Security Catastrophe" by Jena Baker McNeill and Richard Weitz, Ph.D. - of course Washington and our State leaders continue to ignore this potential threat and strong recommendations to address, by moving it to the bottom of the list of concerns. It just blows my mind. A Faraday cage is something we talked about making for our ham radio equipment but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Time to get serious.

Thanks for the blog Kellene! I agree that an EMP attack would be traumatic to America, but also to the world and to the enemy who launches it. America may degrade in a few weeks or months after such a strike, but there are serious enterprising resources out there that will shine bright in those dark hours. And after serious adjustments are made, we will ultimately prevail. There is a reason why no enemy has ever invaded our homeland with intent to conquer. A very large percentage of the American people are quite capable of providing the necessary defense that has historically prevented enemies from setting foot on our land. Our enemies know "there's a gun behind every blade of grass" and we must keep it that way, for our defense, real and apparent. And we must keep those guns loaded. Every country that has been disarmed has been invaded. We cannot let that happen here. Many of our government officials, the people WE ELECT, are afraid of it's own citizens because they are armed and they have been attempting to remove that right for many, many years. Like em or hate em, guns are not pleasant - they are designed to do one specific job - stop a threat. But they can either be in the hands of the enemy, or in the hands of Patriots protecting this country. Take your pick. Sooner or later, every man and woman of this nation must recognize and embrace the fact that self-defense is a God-given right, not a government given privilege that can be granted or taken away because of politician fear or declaration of martial law.

Another interesting essay! Keep in mind that we also have the potential for mounting an EMP attack on our enemy/enemies. It may well be that a credible threat would initialize our attack--no nuclear weapons, so the "weak willies" would have little to complain about. But they would anyway, of course.

I heard William Forstchen on Laura Ingraham and bought the book, scoured the web site and started talking with my husband about six months ago. We are a long way from where I want to be but we have started our preparedness. It was through that searching that I found your invaluable web site and I am definitely a fan, and I started my notebook with your information and we are moving ahead. Also, I have to say that I didn't do anything without first praying because I know that my Lord would not want me to operate out of a "spirit of fear but of love, discipline, and a sound mind." That has been the basis of all our preparation and the guiding principle in this area. We are reducing our debt (which is thankfully a small amount on a credit card and no more charging) and the basics. This weekend is our ham radio class and we can take the test for our license right then. It doesn't override our lives but has become a "life style" that we are pursuing so that we are not caught unaware. Keep up the fantastic work, which I believe God has prepared YOU for such a time as this.

I also read "One Second After". Great book if frightening. I wanted to alert you to the article on the Faraday cage you provided. Although it is a "proof of concept" article and the author was satisfied with his idea, it did not scale up and the scale-up revealed a number of problems with his design. It only cut back 40 db of radio waves. A professional shield will cut back 80 db. Also he regretted using aluminum mesh because the finish oxidizes (reducing the effectiveness of the shield) and it is difficult to link sheets of the mesh together effectively. There were also grounding problems. This is not to discourage folks from giving this a try, but begin small scale. Try a metal ammo box and store a few essential electronics there. An old microwave oven is designed to keep microwave radiation in so it will likely keep it out as well. But keep in mind that even if you protect your own electronics, no one else will. If you protect a radio, to whom will you talk? It had better be a shortwave radio. All local radio will be gone.

Alex, I agree the article has it flaws. This is why I tried to fill in some blanks with the other article in which I addressed using copper wire mesh. Also, a galvanized trash can is still one of my Faraday cages of choice. (properly grounded of course)

I cannot believe that in this day and age of enlightenment there are still people who believe that everything is just hunky-dorey in their dream world. Thanks for taking the time to alert the public at large that EMP is, indeed, a very real and effective weapon.

I was a NBC NCO (Nuclear,Biological, Chemical) as a Private first class in the National Guard, and I was always selected to give classes on this type of threat. Playing around and giving classes 3 grades above what I was designated in the US Army. I always found it intriguing. Gas was used a lot in WWI, why didn't Hitler use it in WWII?
Now I always thought this would be the best way to attack, via EMP. No radiation, just cripple the infrastructure. Now I assume if I knew this as a PFC some General must know as well. Now I do a lot of study on History and Military History as a laymen. But if I know it as an SSG not even an Officer, I wonder how many others know it? It's a great way to cripple a tech nation, and take resources intact.
I don't think we can stop or mitigate an EMP attack. Good news any EMP attack would probably kill no one out right. If you depend on any kind of electricity you are hosed. We've never had an attack like this but most likely all transformers are dead. No radio,tv,internet,phones or cell phones. If it's got wires in it? It's dead. Of course all you folks that depend on electricity for care maybe in for a bad time. I never thought about the planes. They are toast, all fly by wire and PC's. They will drop out of the skies. Hope they don't pancake on you.
Turn off all the power in your home or business,from jump, it may not work but if you are hooked to the grid you have fried your electronics. Now this isn't a power outage and you reset the breaker. The wiring is destroyed, chips are gone, if exposed to the burst. Heck the US Army is not sure if their EMP protection will work. So folks I would not depend on simple tinfoil. I don't know that this will work. All I can say is build your defense in depth.
1. Place all critical coms and batteries in an ESD bag.
2.Get a good sturdy garbage can and ground it in good wet earth.
3. A good ground is a pole of a aluminum or copper 9 ft. long buried in the earth.
4.No contact metal to metal besides ground.
5. No coils in power cables. Inside or out.
We are guessing, we know what doesn't work. Still a bit of guessing going on at Military level. If I get some more info I'll get it to you.

@Edvais, I think technology has made it possible. But I was Signal (Tactical Communications) in the Army. I think they may have it at a strategic level, but not for the groundpounders. Now I know during that time frame they did have a prototype mini-nuke around 2 megaton range, (W54 Crockett) but if you fired it you were in the blast area. They didn't have the range for 1 man weapon in the 60's. I think they could do it now. I never saw it anything like what you are saying. But I could imagine a "Drone" doing something similar to what you are asking about. Theoretically I would have been "behind the lines" as support. Trust me I have lots of stories from female support personnel that were ahead of the lines, with fuel,food and ammo.
There is no behind the lines anymore when folks have rockets.
The Military is tends to plan based on the last war not the next one.